stateside

we had a great trip! thankful for the time of rest with my family. we didnt take many pictures on the trip, but here a few of the highlights...
its always hard to say goodbye to family, but its especially hard to say "bye" to this little one...

youtube of the month: january

the youthful mind at its finest! a throwback for those of you who were in college around the same time i was... does ebaumsworld still exist?

xmas

i felt the struggle more than ever this year to keep Jesus at the center of Christmas. the holiday can be filled with so many other things; busyness, travel, family, parties, presents, without ever stopping to consider the unbelievable fact that Our Savior was born!

thankfully, this year anna and i had the opportunity to press "pause" on our latvian life and celebrate Christmas together with my family in the states. it was such a restful and memorable time for us!

another highlight was getting to meet my brother's wife, lauren! this was the first time anna and i had the chance to meet her in person, and it was wonderful to get to know her outside of skype. they came out to arizona for two days and we can say now with confidence that tim is a lucky guy! we are so grateful for this time with my family. i freaking love them!

as i grow older, i can see more and more clearly that Jesus is THE ONLY reason why there is anything good in my life. His birth is a celebration of God's goodness and provision for His people. thank you Jesus for coming in complete humility! i still cant fully comprehend it.

all the brooks women finally together!

a christmas surprise!

youtube of the month: december

i posted this video last year, but its too good not to revisit it.

Immanuel... certainly worth celebrating!

is work your lord?

really appreciate tim keller's thoughtfulness and articulation of Biblical truth. good thoughts to test the motivation behind our "work," no matter what it is we do!

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happy birthday, latvija!

latvia officially turned 94 today.

its nice to see google getting into the holiday spirit too!

lāčplēša diena

november 11th is an important day in latvian history. "lāčplēša diena" is celebrated in remembrance of the battle when latvians fought against and defeated german and russian forces. this link gives a clear explanation of the events leading up to and following november 11th, 1919.

anna and i walked down to the presidents castle to see the thousands of candles that are lit in remembrance of soldiers who fought for latvias freedom on the banks of the daugava river. it was an incredible sight and one that makes me so proud of this country!

november update

read our latest support update here!

my current jam(s)

a friend recently turned me on to the group PageCXVI. their goal is to bring new awareness to the depth and beauty of hymns. you can support them by buying an album or download a sampler album of their music for free here.

for now, enjoy listening to their version of one of my all-time favorite songs "come thou fount."

happy halloween?

nope.

happy birthday? yes!

some friends of ours celebrated their son's first birthday this past weekend. his name is noa (noah), so naturally guests came dressed up as animals! this was enough of an excuse for me to dress up as winnie the pooh. anna came dressed up as my best friend, piglet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOA!

youtube of the month: november

im proud to rep latvian street art and my friend who shot and edited this film. im also proud of where this took place aka my "hood." overall, a pretty creative idea for an art exhibition. check it!